


Dog Days Are Over

by iktwabrokenbone (apiculteur)



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Bad Jokes, Cats, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2015-08-24
Packaged: 2018-04-17 02:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4649502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apiculteur/pseuds/iktwabrokenbone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh isn't sure what his favourite thing about this cat shelter is: the many, many cats, or the cute boy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dog Days Are Over

**Author's Note:**

> haha what a funny and clever title u have there frankie u r truly an inspiration i wish i could be like u, talking abt urself in third person like a fuckin tit
> 
> i actually went to a shelter like this it was top qual 10/10 would recommend i fuckin love cats!!! so many cute cats!!! there was only like ten where i went but like america is bigger than england so i guess u would have more cats???? idk i dont understand america
> 
> EDIT: someone v kindly did a translation in [ру́сский](https://ficbook.net/readfic/4867733)!!! thank u a lot!!! :)))

If there was anything Josh loved in this world, it was cats. Josh really, really loved cats. Not in any weird kind of way, he just thought they were adorable and would like to pet every cat and let them know that they are the most important thing on this world.

Alas, he had realised early into his twenties that petting every single cat was unrealistic. In fact, he was too poor to be able to buy himself a cat, either. As much as he enjoyed visiting Debby as often as possible to pet her cat, she was beginning to catch onto his plan, and complaining that he only loved her for her cat. That wasn't true, of course, but it sure did encourage him to visit her more often. Especially since Doctor was so fricking cute.

In the interest of practicality and maintaining his friendship with Debby, Josh resorted to visiting a cat shelter. He didn't have the time to volunteer on top of uni, but he could spare a dollar or two to visit the shelter and pet their kittens every now and then. And whilst he loved Doctor and Debby, the shelter sometimes had as many as _twenty_ cats in there. And he could usually pet them _all_. He could pet _twenty cats_ in a day. Josh had never been more excited than when he heard that.

Apart from, perhaps, when he proceeded to follow them up on that offer, only to realise that the twenty had been rounded, and they had twenty-one cats. Every single one of them was adorable, and Josh could have cried for joy in those moments, surrounded by cats.

The shelter, whilst holding many cats, was rather small, and out of the way. Josh wasn't sure why people would ever decide that petting this many cats wasn't something they wanted to do, but there were only three other people in the shelter with him, the owner and a volunteer included. He was crouched in front of two tiny white kittens when the volunteer approached him.

They hovered behind him for a few seconds, shoes making a sound as they shifted against the linoleum floor, before he spoke. "They're adorable, aren't they?" the volunteer said, making Josh jump.

He craned him neck up to see the man, a guy of average height, quite tanned, with fluffy hair making him almost as cute as the kitten nuzzling Josh's hand. The volunteer was actually painfully adorable, Josh decided, when he noticed a third kitten cradled in his arms, letting out a tiny mew. The guy lifted the kitten to his face and kissed it's nose before placing it down.

Josh didn't know if he could handle cute boys and kittens at the same time. "They sure are cute," Josh agreed, grinning as one stuck it's sharp claws into his hand. It hurt a bit, but he was used to it.

"I mean, obviously they're not as cute as you, but they have their charm," the guy said, and Josh was sure he was blushing. He was completely untrained to deal with cute strangers giving him compliments.

"I appreciate the compliment, but I can't believe that. Have you seen this little guy?" he asked, holding one up next to his face and pouting to demonstrate.

"Yeah, but how am I supposed to focus on him when you're there looking like some gentle punk?" the guy asked, and Josh laughed.

"Dude, you're unbelievable," he said, beginning to stroke an older cat with long, grey fur. It was both because he wanted to and to keep him calm as he flirted.

"No, I'm Tyler," he said.

For a second, Josh stared in confusion, before realising the poor joke he had made. "Are you kidding?" he asked, more to himself than to the man, Tyler.

"Bro, I just told you! _No_ , I'm Tyler. How bad is your memory?" he said, laughing at himself as he said it.

This guy was lame. He was so, so lame, and also very, very cute. Refusing to laugh at the joke, but lips twitching nonetheless, Josh said, "I'm Josh."

Tyler opened his mouth to say something, but the owner cracked open the door to the room, calling to Tyler that he needed another room cleaned. Tyler looking disheartened, apologising as he left the room, reluctant. Josh bid his goodbyes, regretful that he hadn't said more to him. The cats helped to quell his sadness, but he had to leave after another ten minutes, in which time Tyler hadn't returned to the room Josh was in.

***

It wasn't at all a lie when Josh said he would've gone back even if he hadn't met Tyler. Of course he would, there were cats there. Which he could stroke. If wanted, for free. He did donate any money he could spare, but it didn't really count as a fee since he elected to give it.

If anything, Tyler was just a bonus, which made Josh return a bit sooner than he might have, had it not been for Tyler. Either way, he was struggling not to bounce with excitement when he approached the shelter. Whilst talking to Debby, he had briefly mentioned Tyler- only because he was already talking about the cat shelter- and she had convinced Josh to ask Tyler out on a date. She was a terrible person, but if nothing else, she was persuasive.

It was a relief to see that Tyler was on shift, even if it made Josh’s chest clutch with nerves, knowing he would end up asking him out. Tyler was putting out food in one of the rooms, facing away from Josh. He stood up to his full height, turning around to see Josh, and grinned.

“Hey, Josh,” Tyler said, waving him over.

“Tyler!” Josh said in return, unable to stop himself from doing his squinty-smile. Debby always cooed over it, but he couldn’t claim he was too fond of it. “What’s up, bro?”

“Oh, man, I’m doing pretty great. Cats are kinda cool, and there’s a bunch here, y’know?” he said, rocking on his toes. Josh couldn’t help notice how physical he was with expressing his happiness, moving around and making muted gestures with his hands. It seemed like he wanted to move his hands more, but was restraining himself, and Josh wanted so much to be able to hold his hand. He wondered if he’d have to let go when Tyler spoke, his arms moving about too much.

Josh was such a nerd. A total nerd with a huge crush. Deciding it was best to get it over with, he nodded. “Um, bro, so you’re cute, and would you wanna go on a date with me?” he asked, cats winding around his legs.

Tyler ducked his head with a smile. “Bro, I was gonna ask you that,” he said.

“Oh. Sweet,” Josh said, then laughed at how unimpressed he had sounded. “Do you want my number or something?”

Tyler nodded, and Josh scrawled it across the back of Tyler’s hand with a sharpie he carried in his jacket. He couldn’t be completely sure about whether he preferred cats or Tyler, but it _might_  begin to lean towards Tyler. _Maybe_.

**Author's Note:**

> meanwhile, i have a bunch of prompts in my inbox which i wanna write but have no motivation to do so, and a bunch of half finished/half planned aus (maze runner au, welcome to night vale sequel, amnesia au, spooky house of jump scares-inspired horror au, ghost au, gargoyle!tyler au, abt a billion more)


End file.
